


By Design

by ScarletCake



Series: Attention Seeker [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Body Worship, Cat/Human Hybrids, Comfort, Cuddling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Purring, Romantic Fluff, Trans Character, Trans Orihara Izaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9899330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletCake/pseuds/ScarletCake
Summary: Shiki interrupts what is meant to be a day of lazing around in bed with an important mission for Shizuo.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heiwajaeger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heiwajaeger/gifts).



> This was supposed to be posted on Valentine's day but I'm always late on deadlines. 
> 
> I hope you like it, Jen <3

It was still weird to wake up before Izaya. Only a few months ago it would never have happened. Izaya had always been able to run on only a few hours of sleep. He didn’t seem to be able to sleep past seven in the morning and he always stayed up late to catch up on emails until Shizuo lost patience and pulled him into bed.

But he didn’t have a cat’s metabolism at the time.

Now it was rare for him to be awake past ten in the evening or wake up before nine in the morning. There were times that he caught Izaya setting an alarm for seven and the following morning he’d hear him grumble at his phone about how tired he was. But he seemed to have given up on that and his schedule matched up fairly well with Shizuo’s after an adjustment period.

Shiki was the only one Izaya kept his regular in-person meetings with. He was still unsure how Izaya kept everything hidden from the Awakusu. Though even if Shiki found out Shizuo doubted he would tell anyone about it. It was never hard to believe someone else would want to keep Izaya safe and when he’d learned of some of the things Shiki had done for Izaya in the past he’d started liking the man quite a lot.

Looking at how Izaya’s ears twitched in his sleep made Shizuo smile. Izaya had growled at him for voicing that very sentiment but it was a safe thought within his own head. He shivered and tried to curl closer to Shizuo than he already was so Shizuo pulled the blankets more securely around them.

In addition to how much sleep he had been getting, he’d started insisting on having more blankets. When Shizuo had asked why he wanted that his answer was a shrug and a mumbled, “It feels better”.

So the bed was now overly hot every time he woke up but at least Izaya was comfortable.

Izaya wasn’t even sweaty when he woke up now, which confused Shizuo beyond belief because he used to get too warm and wake up sweaty and complaining about needing a shower. There were two thick blankets on the bed and Shizuo sweated profusely if he ever chose to wear a shirt, but Izaya was almost always wearing one of Shizuo’s old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants and he never complained. It made no sense.

When he slid his fingers into the hair at the back of Izaya’s neck he felt not even a hint of damp. Izaya started purring softly at the touch so he left his hand there and leaned in closer to press a kiss to the edge of his jaw. He heard a hitch in the other’s breathing and smirked as he left another kiss next to the last and received a similar response. Encouraged by his steady progress on rousing him, he continued.

Izaya woke up after Shizuo moved up from his tenth kiss to nuzzle at his ear. He knew he was awake because his purring had ceased completely. “Good morning,” Shizuo murmured into his hair.

It took Izaya a moment to respond and when he did it was by scratching at him, “I was asleep, Shizu-chan.” He didn’t sound upset. His voice sounded rougher than it usually did when he woke up naturally, but that’s what tended to happen after he continued purring for a prolonged period of time.

“I know,” Shizuo replied, “but I wanted to kiss you.”

Izaya groaned and pulled on a stray curl of blond hair, “Let me _sleeeeep_. You have all day to kiss me.”

“Mm, I got an early start. You can go back to sleep if you want.” Shizuo offered while pressing a kiss to the other’s forehead, ignoring the huff of amusement he received for it.

“Will you stop kissing me long enough to let me?”

Shizuo hovered over where he was planning to press another kiss against the other’s neck and raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that what you want?”

Izaya was quiet as he stared back at him. His pupils were narrow slits but his expression was blank. Then he shifted closer to him and sighed, “I’m awake now so I guess I could indulge you for a few minutes.”

“Shut up,” Shizuo laughed, scratching behind one of Izaya’s ears when he opened his mouth to protest, “you’re not even doing anything.”

“What are you talking about,” Izaya’s voice sounded odd from the vibration of his purring and he frowned at Shizuo’s grin because of it. He crossed his arms in what Shizuo assumed was an attempt to make his displeasure obvious despite the purring. Izaya couldn’t fool him. “I gave you permission to kiss me.”

Shizuo said nothing, merely pressed his lips to the side of Izaya’s neck in a show of intention. He might have tried to hide any expression of enjoyment on his face, but the constant thrum of sound in his throat gave him away regardless of how hard he tried.

His other tells weren’t as obvious as the angle of his ears or the purring, but Shizuo knew him and had known him for years before those new developments made their appearance.

So when he bit down gently on the juncture between his neck and shoulder it was because he knew from experience that it would drag a groan from Izaya’s throat. It didn’t sound the same as it did before, but it was the same response. And the half-hearted glare the other threw at him afterward was the same as it was when they were inexperienced and still learning about each other. Shizuo grinned at him and then let his expression melt from teasing into warmth.

“Do you remember how weird it was the first time you started purring?”

Izaya looked amused, “I do. I also remember trying to stop and you doing everything in your power to keep me from stopping.”

Shizuo hummed at him and focused back on feathering kisses across his collarbone. He had made a slow path almost to the other shoulder before Izaya reached up to curl his fingers into his hair. Shizuo sat up just enough to meet his eyes. “Do you remember how angry you were when you got home that day?”

He did. He wasn’t angry at Izaya, though Izaya might have thought that at first. Shizuo had come home to see him sitting on the couch in a tight ball of anxiety, unfamiliar ears pinned back and a thick tail he’d never seen before wrapped around his stomach. Everything in him that had been furious from a bad day had quieted instantly when Izaya’s eyes met his and he’d crumpled further into himself.

He still didn’t know how it happened or who did it. “Yeah. Kind of lost its importance pretty quickly.”

Izaya smiled, his eyes soft with affection, and then Shizuo stopped looking at his face. He pulled one of Izaya’s hands up and kissed his palm, the pads of his fingers, his knuckles, and then up to his wrist.

He had kissed every inch of Izaya’s body more times than he could count and he never lost the desire to do it all over again. There was no part of him that he didn’t cherish, nothing about him that he would change or grow tired of even after years of the same thing. His chest ached, his eyes burned and his throat closed off on a sound too vulnerable for a moment such as this. There was too much he wanted to say all at once and all of it would fall flat to his own ears.

Izaya’s fingers in his hair loosened their hold and turned to a caress. Whether it was reassurance of his presence or something unconsciously affectionate, Shizuo wasn’t sure. He breathed out to steady himself and released Izaya’s arm.

When he leaned down to press a kiss through the fabric of his shirt over Izaya’s chest he thought better of it and sat up to coax Izaya into taking it off for him. Izaya frowned, “It’s cold.”

“I’m going to be laying on top of you and we have two blankets,” Shizuo thumbed at the bottom edge of the shirt and Izaya didn’t move, “can I pull it up then? It doesn’t have to be completely off, just up enough for me to keep going. It’s in the way like this.”

Izaya hesitated just long enough to throw him an irritated scowl that was only partially obstructed by the tension of a repressed smile on his lips, and then he nodded and pulled his arms up to rest near his head.

“I’m probably not going to be able to sleep after this, you know.” Izaya tried to sound exasperated but his posture gave away how little he cared. If he was really intent on sleeping he’d have hissed at Shizuo for waking him up in the first place.

Shizuo smiled knowingly while he tugged the shirt up past his breasts. As soon as the shirt was up as far as he needed it he pulled the blanket up higher and slid down far enough to comfortably kiss Izaya’s abdomen. He started just below his navel and worked his way up. Izaya hissed at him when he rubbed at his thighs and his tail thumped loudly against the mattress in a further show of irritation at Shizuo’s forgetfulness. Despite that he didn’t make any move to shove Shizuo’s hands away himself. Only when he started twitching and giggling under his breath did Shizuo move his hands.

“Sorry,” Shizuo said with a smile. He leaned up on his elbow and ran his fingers along the bottom edge of Izaya’s ribcage, “forgot you’re ticklish there.”

Izaya pulled lightly at his hair and narrowed his eyes in annoyance, “You always say that. I am convinced you do it on purpose every single time.”

“Maybe sometimes, but that time I might have really forgotten.”

“Did you?”

“If I say yes will you stop pulling my hair?”

“No.”

“Then no.” Shizuo laughed when Izaya tugged at his hair again, “If you’re going to respond the same way every time I’m never going to learn.”

“You wouldn’t learn even if I did respond differently.”

“I suppose that’s true. I like your laugh too much to stop using that as an opportunity to hear it.” Izaya narrowed his eyes further and Shizuo reached up to cup his cheek. For a long moment all Izaya did was stare at him and then his eyelids fluttered closed and he leaned into Shizuo’s hand. The purr in his throat grew louder.

Shizuo pulled himself up further to kiss his nose and his cheek. Then he sat still and waited for Izaya to lose patience and blink open his eyes. He raised an eyebrow and Shizuo grinned without moving and his ears pulled back almost flat against his head in response. “You’re teasing me.” Izaya whined at him and kicked at his shins.

“I’m not.” Shizuo said, completely removing all sincerity from his voice, “I just wanted to look at you first.”

“Before what?” Izaya huffed, “Not kissing me?”

“That’s all I’ve been doing for the past several minutes. Didn’t you say you were going to indulge me for only a few minutes?”

Izaya growled at him, but Shizuo didn’t move away or say anything. He dropped his hand from Izaya’s cheek and started drawing careful circles into the skin above his breasts. He watched Izaya’s pupils dilate from slits to almost full before he stopped the circles and slid his hand down until his palm was flat on his ribs and the only thing left touching Izaya’s breast was his thumb.

Shizuo could see the tension in his jaw. He was annoyed but still wasn’t saying anything. “Do you want me to let you sleep?” Shizuo pried. He sat absolutely still while he waited for his response.

When Izaya shook his head and mumbled “No,” he immediately leaned forward to kiss the part of his lips, drawing his hand up from the mattress to thread his fingers into dark hair to hold him steady. He didn’t press forward more and Izaya didn’t coax him into it, letting it remain at just a gentle, closed-mouth kiss.

They parted, Izaya with a satisfied sigh and Shizuo with the intent on continuing his earlier pursuit. He shifted back over his knees and brought the hand in Izaya’s hair back down. He gently pushed it under him and stopped when it rested against the middle of his spine.

He paused with his lips almost touching Izaya’s sternum and skimmed his gaze across the skin of his chest and up his neck toward his cheeks. He remembered his thoughts from just before Izaya woke up, the overly warm temperature under the blankets reminding him about it. He wasn’t even a little flushed from heat and it made Shizuo ask, “How are you not hot?”

“Maybe I have a low body temperature.” Izaya huffed at him, clearly disappointed with yet another interruption, “You complain about how cold my toes are all the time, is it really that surprising?”

He felt the cool press of toes against his leg as if he needed a reminder of that, “It’s almost feverishly hot under here. I just don’t understand how you’re not dying right now. ”

“I am, actually.”

Shizuo frowned at him in confusion, looking over his skin in an attempt to find proof he hadn’t seen the first glance over. He wasn’t shivering; instead he looked comfortable and relaxed. “You are?”

“ _Yes_ ,” exasperation coated his words as he sat up on his elbows to glare at Shizuo again, “because you keep _stopping_. I thought you wanted to kiss me, Shizu-chan, not ask me how my body works.”

Shizuo stared at him, “Oh.” He had been distracted, though he hadn’t meant for that to annoy Izaya, “Sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” Izaya amended in a softer tone, “I wan--”

Shizuo’s cell phone started beeping at them and Izaya startled, his right knee coming up on instinct to hit Shizuo in the stomach. It ached distantly but he was more concerned with making sure Izaya wasn’t hurt and shutting the damn alarm off on his phone. He didn’t even remember setting that.

He was in the middle of rubbing Izaya’s knee to soothe his discomfort when he noticed that the alarm was actually the ringtone he had for Tom. He lunged forward, careful not to hit Izaya with any part of himself in the process, and flipped the phone open just before the last note of the song played. “Tom-san?” he asked and the man coughed uncomfortably in response.

_“Hey Shizuo, sorry if I woke you up.”_

He shook his head and pushed off the mattress so he could sit up straight. Izaya scratched at his back but he ignored the distraction, “You didn’t. What’s up?”

He could hear something in the background that might have been a television but he couldn’t make it out very well and then Tom was speaking again, _“Y’know that yakuza guy your boyfriend works with?”_

Shizuo’s eyebrows furrowed, “Shiki?”

_“Yeah, that one.”_

His friend went silent and after waiting for a bit without him saying anything else Shizuo asked, “What about him? Does he need something?”

Izaya shifted behind him and he felt his palm on his hip just before soft lips pressed against the back of his neck. And then Izaya pulled his legs out from under the blankets to throw them over the edge of the bed. Shizuo watched him distractedly while Tom spoke into his ear about something at work. He reached out to run his fingers through the silky fur on Izaya’s tail and smiled when he let him. Izaya disappeared through the bedroom door a moment later with a tiny smile on his lips and Tom raised his voice, _“Shizuo? Did you hear me?”_ with enough emphasis that he must have repeated it at least twice.

“Sorry, can you say that again.” Shizuo kept his eyes on the door, waiting for Izaya to come back, but then the shower cut on and he knew it would be a few minutes at least.

 _“He has someone he’d like us to speak to on his behalf. I think it’s probably pretty important since he’s going out of his way to ensure you’re one of the people on the job.”_ Tom sounded exhausted. Dealing with the yakuza had never been something he was fond of.

Shizuo leaned his head back and sighed in resignation, “Well I’m not about to tell him no. Have you spoken to Varona about it yet?”

_“I haven’t. I wanted to let you know first since he asked specifically for you. I’ll call her next.”_

“And what time are we supposed to head over to do this?”

Tom was quiet for a few seconds and he heard the sound of paper crinkling, _“It’s uh, a few hours. This afternoon at the latest. Around 1 work for you?”_

Shizuo squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index. He’d intended to spend the day at home but he didn’t really have a choice now. He wasn’t going to risk upsetting Shiki. “Yeah, 1 works. See you then.”

He was in the middle of buttoning his trousers when Izaya came back into the room. He had a towel around his waist but nothing covering his torso and his hair was still damp enough that a few drops of water have fallen onto his shoulders and were running down his back. His ears were still damp as well and the way they were angled down and back it looked like he wasn’t too happy about the situation. Izaya caught him looking at him, “Have you seen my--”

“Your binder is in the top drawer with your underwear. I put it in there yesterday.”

Izaya shot him a grin that looked more amused than the situation called for, “I was going to say my belt, but thank you.”

“Oh,” Shizuo took a cursory glance around the room and spotted it beside the hamper, “it’s over there.” He pointed it out to him, “Do you have somewhere you need to be today?”

“Yeah, Shiki-san texted me to let me know our meeting will be pushed forward an hour because he has something to do later.” Izaya crouched down to pick up his belt and Shizuo looked away deliberately, “I’d imagine it has something to do with why you’re also getting dressed for work.”

Shizuo nodded in agreement, “Probably,” and tugged his shirt off the hanger, carefully pulling one arm through at a time. When he started buttoning it Izaya’s hands came into view just below his and he looked up to meet his eyes. He dropped his hands from his shirt to Izaya’s elbows and rubbed the skin of his upper arms gently with his thumbs. Izaya grinned at him and finished doing up the front of his shirt before he pressed his palms flat on Shizuo’s chest.

“Kiss me.” It wasn’t a demand, the tone was too soft and warm to be anything close to it, but he would've done it even if it was.

Shizuo huffed and reached for his hips. Izaya threaded his fingers into Shizuo’s hair and rocked up onto the balls of his feet.

He kissed him slowly, bleeding all of the warmth and care he possessed into it, and Izaya let him, responding in kind. When he inevitably started shivering Shizuo slid his hands up, wrapping one firmly around his waist to tug him closer. He pressed the thumb of his other hand up against the bottom edge of his breast with his palm flat against his ribs to urge warmth into the skin there. It helped, even if just a small amount.

Izaya tightened the hold he had on Shizuo’s hair, but pulled away enough that their lips weren’t touching anymore. “Was that what you wanted?” Shizuo asked quietly and Izaya laughed under his breath, blinking up at him a moment later with affection in his eyes and a warm smile on his lips. “Yeah. That was perfectly acceptable.”

Shizuo breathed out slowly and then coaxed Izaya back to sit on the bed.

Somehow the act of helping him get dressed had always seemed more intimate than undressing him. Maybe it was the removal of the expectation that came with undressing each other, but even with Shizuo leaving kisses in a path up the other’s legs as he pulled his jeans on the only thing that stirred in him was appreciation.

Shizuo had always had a thing for his legs. Izaya used to tease him endlessly about it. In high school especially, on the rare occasions he wore shorts. Shizuo couldn’t stop staring at him then and it only got worse over time as Izaya grew more beautiful.

He chuckled and Izaya tilted his head at him. “What’s funny?”

Shizuo finished buttoning Izaya’s jeans and reached for his shirt, but Izaya laid back against the sheets and raised an eyebrow at him, “What do you think is funny, Shizu-chan?”

“You are.” Izaya threw him an odd look and Shizuo leaned forward to kiss his left breast, right over his heart, and then his collarbone, his jaw, his temple, “What you do to me. What you’ve always done to me.”

“Mm, and what is it that I’ve always done to you?”

His eyes had a mischievous glint behind them but Shizuo indulged his curiosity anyway. He couldn’t help it. “You make me crazy and then you laugh at me about it.”

Izaya laughed, only further proving his point, and then placed a hand on Shizuo’s chest, “I used to laugh because I didn’t understand it.”

“And now?”

“Now,” Izaya pushed Shizuo’s hair out of his face and looked at him consideringly, “I laugh because I still don’t understand it, but I love it anyway. The way you stare at me isn’t what I find funny, it’s that it’s me you’re looking at like that.”

They’ve had a lot of conversations like this over the years. It took them a long time to fit comfortably into themselves. What helped it along was the constant reassurance of each other’s presence, their comfort with each other overriding some of the internal struggles.

It was especially hard right after Izaya’s change. He fell back into himself and for several weeks it was like he’d regressed all the way back to how he was in high school when they first met. He was terrified and filled with self-hatred, only this time Shizuo knew what to do to help and when to give him space.

Shizuo loved Izaya. He had loved him for years. And he tried to show it however he could, as often as possible. Sometimes it was as simple holding his hand and other times it took hours of holding him in silence.

Izaya was staring at him like he knew where his thoughts had wandered and pressed a gentle kiss into his forehead. Shizuo closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, letting the other’s breathing sooth his thoughts.

The rest of the time they spent getting ready was in comfortable but meaningless conversation. The morning was slow to pass and Shizuo made a late breakfast for them to share before they had to set off in separate directions for the day. Izaya assured him he would be careful and kissed him with more energy than Shizuo thought he possessed at that time of day. With the sun high in the sky and bleeding warmth into the whole of the city Izaya was usually lethargic, exactly like the cat he claimed he wasn’t.

And then Izaya was gone and Shizuo was left to lock the apartment and text Tom for the address of where they were meeting.

~~~

The place Shiki had chosen for their meeting was an expensive italian place that Izaya had never stepped foot inside before. He didn’t bother demanding Shiki’s reason behind it. He was certain he would get to it in his own time. Until then he would enjoy the food he ordered, all the while longing for Shizuo’s cooking and the comfort of their apartment. He enjoyed Shiki’s company and respected the man’s taste in many things, but since the moment he’d woken up to those damn ears and tail he’d been antsy if he spent too long in unfamiliar environments.

He wasn’t going to think about his longing for Shizuo’s company for as long as possible. It would only make it worse and he needed to focus.

Shiki might not have known what had happened to Izaya, but he had made it very clear that he knew something was going on and Izaya felt it was important to play it off until he could find a way to reverse it or at least hide it better.

“You seem distracted, Orihara.” Shiki stated impassively.

Izaya leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, leaning on his palm in an effort to look more relaxed than he felt. If there was one thing he was grateful for about the change in his body it was his apparent inability to sweat. It made it easier to act like nothing bothered him. “I’m just thinking about the coincidental absence of Shizu-chan and rescheduling of our meeting. You wouldn’t happen to know why that is, would you Shiki-san?”

Shiki’s expression remained unphased. “I’m surprised he hasn’t already spoken to you about this.”

Izaya shrugged, “He didn’t have much information at the time. It seemed pretty vague to me.”

They stared at each other in silence while Izaya waited for his response. His ears itched under the hat he was wearing. He should’ve worn the softer one that Shizuo bought for him instead. “I asked Heiwajima’s boss for a favor from his organization.”

Izaya raised an eyebrow, “Tanaka?”

Shiki inclined his head. Izaya reached for his glass. “I needed a favor that Heiwajima was perfect for and Tanaka seemed to think going through him would be preferable because of the specifics.”

“Must have been something really important for you to risk involving outside sources.” He ignored the urge to down the entire glass of water and returned it to its place on the table after only a small sip.

“It is important as far as Heiwajima is concerned, if not for any other reason.”

Shiki was never this avoidant about telling him information when Shizuo was involved. Izaya narrowed his eyes very slightly and looked down at the nails of his left hand. They weren’t as sharp as he would’ve liked them to be, he’d have to shape them again. “The only things Shizu-chan is concerned with are Kasuka-kun, his friends, and me. I wonder which it could be connected to.”

Shiki remained silent and his expression, as usual, gave Izaya nothing to go on. They were nearly finished with their meal when the executive’s phone lit up on the table beside him. Izaya acted like he didn’t notice and Shiki set everything aside while he read the screen over twice.

Izaya didn’t look at him until he cleared his throat and in a polite tone said, “Orihara.”

His expression was unreadable but he was holding his phone out in offer for Izaya. He leaned forward and glanced over the familiar characters of Shizuo Heiwajima on the screen twice before it registered that it was a text from his boyfriend.

_You could’ve just told me the asshole threatened Izaya._

That’s all it said, as short and sweet as every text Izaya had ever seen from Shizuo to another person. He sat back and smiled at Shiki in what he hoped came across as polite instead of vicious, “So it was about me then.”

“I wanted to wait for confirmation that Heiwajima had met with him before explaining.”

“Why not have our meeting after that?”

Shiki ignored his question, “About a week ago Akabayashi told me about this man,” he picked up a file from the seat beside him and Izaya frowned at it because he hadn’t noticed it was there, “and how he was making threats on your life and your position with the Awakusu.”

Izaya barely looked at the file contents before he set it aside for later inspection and looked incredulously at Shiki, “There have been many threats on my life before, Shiki-san.”

Shiki nodded his agreement, “There have. This man falls under Heiwajima’s jurisdiction because of a few reasons that I find it unnecessary to disclose to you. In addition to this, he was extorting money from the bank he works for, which happens to be under the management of the Awakusu.” He paused and took a drink from his own glass before he continued, “This course of action made the most sense and cost us the least amount of resources.”

“And by that you mean it cost you nothing because you didn’t involve me this time.”

Shiki stared at him and Izaya was given the distinct impression that he had offended the man. “If you wish to pursue this further all of the information I have on this person is in the file I gave you.”

Izaya shook his head, “I appreciate the efforts you have put into defending me, Shiki-san, but perhaps next time this should be handled differently? After all, Shizu-chan can’t have left this individual uninjured. And even if you don’t wish to entrust me with the information to begin with, you have plenty of other sources that you could hire for less.”

“This was not a matter of expense, Orihara.”

“No, it was a matter of defending my life and my honor. I appreciate it, really I do. But maybe tell me next time.”

“Forgive me.” Shiki bowed his head very slightly and then met his eyes with the slightest frown on his lips, “But I do not regret my decision in this.”

Izaya had heard Shiki make apologies only a few times in the time he had known him, and none of them had been directed at him. It was a surreal experience to hear something that sounded almost apologetic coming from him. Izaya waved it off, “That is your choice. I cannot stop you.”

After that their conversation returned to regular business and Izaya tried to put it out of his mind until he got home. Shiki offered to give him a ride back to his apartment building and he took it. He wanted to get home as quickly as possible and if he could make Shiki believe he wasn’t holding a grudge over it then all the better.

He wasn’t angry. It was flattering in a way to have another person that cared enough about him to want him to remain safe and took steps to ensure it, even if the explanation for it made it sound less like he was worried about Izaya and more that he was worried about his organization. Which was something Izaya understood and didn’t question.

The car ride was quiet aside from the music from the radio that Izaya could barely hear and couldn’t make out because of the hat pressing his ears flat to his head. The back seat was a tight enough fit that he was starting to feel claustrophobic, the leather pressing harshly into his tail and after such a long time of keeping it wrapped around his waist it was starting to cramp up in some places while others were going numb.

If Shiki noticed his discomfort--Izaya knew he didn’t miss much--he didn’t say anything about it.

As soon as he stepped out of the vehicle he almost sighed in relief. It never used to bother him so much to be locked away in a car for so long. When he was turning back to wave goodbye Izaya noticed the odd tightness around Shiki’s lips. It made him hesitate. “Is there something else you wish to discuss, Shiki-san?”

His forehead creased in what looked like frustration for a moment and then he was frowning instead, “If I have anything else for you I will send an email.”

Izaya nodded. They said their goodbyes and then Shiki’s car drove away and Izaya let himself relax. The air was warm and the sun was making him lethargic. The feeling continued to stick to him even after he’d stepped inside the building. Maybe he would be able to take a nap before Shizuo got home.

As soon as he opened the apartment door he felt more at ease than he had in the past few hours. Izaya liked Shiki’s company, but it was nothing compared to being at home in a familiar environment that smelled and felt like Shizuo and himself.

He shut the door and took off his shoes and his coat, carefully removed the hat so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt his ears, and then tugged his tail out from under his shirt. It ached as he stretched it and his ears twitched at every tiny sound but after a few moments he adjusted again.

Sometimes it didn’t feel worth the effort of covering all of that up. He knew he needed to, but that didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. It made him wonder if Celty didn’t enjoy the feeling of wearing her helmet. He’d never really considered that before.

Izaya was still too warm and his back was starting to ache but he didn’t feel like wrestling his binder off quite yet. The sun was shining bright and tempting through the windows and all he wanted to do was lay on the floor and bathe in it until Shizuo got home. He tore his eyes away from it and trudged into the kitchen to find a water bottle instead.

On the fridge there were tiny magnets holding various pictures of the twins, his parents and Shizuo’s, Kasuka, the odd picture of a small animal that Kururi had been proud to show off in her pride about her photography skills. It was something the two of them had in common and he enjoyed asking her about it whenever they spoke.

Hidden away in files on his computer, there were pictures he’d taken in high school that he’d never shown to anyone. He wasn’t exactly embarrassed by the hobby, but it was very clear what his interests were at the time. A large percentage of them were of Shizuo and the majority of those were taken in secret. He’d since shown them to Shizuo and he still remembered the way the blood had rushed to his face.

There was one of him sleeping on the roof that was taken seconds before he’d woken up and growled at Izaya about staring at him while he slept. He’d taken alot during Shizuo’s outbursts of rage, mainly of him lifting something heavy or just before he’d started yelling, when his eyes were ablaze with too much emotion.

But there were also times where he would catch gentler moments. Shizuo walking under the fall of cherry blossoms. A smile he’d directed at Kururi the first time they spoke before Izaya had walked up to introduce them properly.

There was one of him staring out the window beside his desk, chin in his palm and sunlight bathing him in gold. He looked so soft and gentle, lost in thought about something Izaya hadn’t realized at the time was him.

That one was his favorite.

It was around then that he had realized he was in love with Shizuo, though it had taken him a much longer time to vocalize it.

His phone pinged at him and he blinked himself out of his distracted staring at the fridge. He pulled out his phone after grabbing a water bottle and sat at the table to read the text. He had a few emails that he needed to sort through, a meeting he needed to ask Namie to attend for him if she had free time, and something he’d need to speak to Celty about.

Izaya sighed and set the phone down on the table to rub his eyes.

Work was never this tiring before and that was by far the worst part of all of this. Hiding his ears and tail was inconvenient but doable. Sleeping ten hours most nights and still wanting to nap in the sun was not.

He glanced at the time on his phone and decided to make dinner for when Shizuo came home. Hopefully the rest of his day had gone smoothly and he would be in a good mood, but he wasn’t counting on that.

The soup didn’t take very long to make, cutting up the vegetables took the longest and Izaya was good at that, so he was surprised when the door opened and Shizuo called out to announce he was home. Izaya ignored the urge to go greet him and waited for Shizuo to come to him instead.

His ears twitched back when he heard Shizuo lean against the doorway, “It smells good in here.”

“That was the intention.” Izaya replied. He opened the cabinet and took out two bowls. He really wanted to turn around to look at him but he didn’t.

Shizuo walked up behind him and pressed a kiss to the top of his head and immediately Izaya started purring. It still frustrated him that this happened. “How was your meeting?”

Izaya shrugged and took a half step forward to put distance between Shizuo and himself so he could _stop purring_ , “About as good as can be expected. Did you enjoy chasing whoever Shiki-san sent you to hunt down?”

Shizuo’s snort at this did not sound happy, “Didn’t have to chase the bastard.”

“He did as you asked then? That’s unusual.” Izaya filled Shizuo’s bowl first and set it aside, “That’s for you. We have milk in the fridge if you want some.”

“Thank you. And no, he didn’t listen.” Shizuo picked up his dish and he heard him open the fridge a bit harder than he needed to, “But he didn’t run either.”

Izaya hummed as he filled his own bowl and picked up two sets of chopsticks, “He’s pretty brave to try to face you like that.”

“I guess you could consider that brave. If he’d realized who I was to begin with he would’ve run away screaming though.” He heard Shizuo pull both chairs out before sitting down himself and smiled. He knew he didn’t think about it before he did it either.

Izaya handed him his chopsticks after he sat across from him and only then did he let himself look at him. He frowned when he noticed blood on his collar and a split in his lip. “How did that happen?” He touched his own lip when Shizuo’s forehead creased on confusion.

“What?” He reached up to touch his lip and frowned at the blood on his fingers afterward, “Oh. Must’ve happened when he elbowed me in the face.”

“And you didn’t notice there was a cut on your lip?” Izaya stared at him in disbelief.

Shizuo shrugged and went back to eating, “I was kinda distracted.”

Izaya looked down at his food and tried to focus on eating. It was hard not to keep asking questions with how much curiosity he felt over this since he knew why Shiki had sent Shizuo after the guy, but he wasn’t about to force the information out of him just because of that. He would talk about it when he was ready to.

Right then he was too tense and Izaya could tell there was residual anger in how he moved that he was trying to ignore.

He was calmer after they finished eating, and even more so when he laid on the couch and Izaya curled up on top of him and started playing with his hair. He scratched lightly at his scalp and Shizuo sighed in contentment. “Shiki told you about what happened today, didn’t he?” he asked after awhile.

Izaya pressed a kiss into the side of his neck and smiled, “Yes. Or, rather, he showed me your text and told me why he’d chosen to send you after this person.”

“But he didn’t tell you anything about him or what he said?” Shizuo asked in a more serious tone, like he was worried. It made Izaya’s chest warm.

“All he told me was that he had threatened my life and then went on to talk about him extorting money from a bank under Shiki’s jurisdiction.” Izaya let one of his hands fall from Shizuo’s hair to run his finger tips across his bottom lip, “I’m surprised he even got this hit in on you.”

Shizuo breathed out harshly against his fingers, his jaw clenching tight before he answered, “He pissed me off. I shouldn’t have hesitated to punch him into next week.”

“Why did you?” Izaya asked softly.

Shizuo was very quiet for a long time. His hands were tense against Izaya’s spine and arm but still as gentle as he always was with him. “He said something that I’m not going to repeat. _God_ , I should’ve--”

“Shizu-chan.” Izaya pushed himself up on his elbow to meet Shizuo’s eyes, “I love you.”

Shizuo blinked once, twice, and then his entire face lit up as if this was the first time Izaya had said this. “I love you.” He brought a hand up to cradle Izaya’s cheek, “I love you so much, ‘zaya.”

His voice was husky, the emotion under his words so clear for Izaya to hear and see. He didn’t want to know what was said. He didn’t need to. It was enough to know that Shizuo felt this intensely for him, about him, that he’d go out of his way to defend him even against cruel words from some random stranger.

Izaya felt burning behind his eyes and tightness in his throat and he smiled through it.

And then he leaned down to press his lips to Shizuo’s.

**Author's Note:**

> I always think that I've hit my threshold for fluff but then I get to a new level so clearly I can keep this up. And, apparently, I can no longer write anything less than 5k words without feeling like it's incomplete. Regardless, I hope this is an acceptable amount of fluff and that all of you enjoy it. 
> 
> Especially Jen since it's, y'know, for her.


End file.
